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Show 1 (DdD Yeaiirg Agn jTD(tay The Park prepares for Christmas (iRMin ' iwu ' by Bettina Moench Dooley Mid-December 1884. Americans from coast to coast were busy preparing for a festive holiday season and the changes promised by the welcoming of a new year. In Washington, D.C., President Arthur was typing up the loose ends of his weighty post and packing up boxes in anticipation of leaving the White House to make room for the new chief, Grover Cleveland. This information and other tidbits from across the nation were sprinkled among advertisements on the front page of the Dec. 13, 1884 issue of the Park Record. With some astonishment, the Record noted that a Negro man had died in New York at the advanced age of 119. "He remembered nearly everything every-thing that occurred during the Revolutionary War, but had forgotten for-gotten that he was a body-servant to General Washington," reported the newspaper. From further down the coast came the news that 150 deaths had been reported in West Virginia from an ailment dubbed "Acute Typhoid Dysentary." While the Record lamented the effects of this fatal disease, it also offered its assessment assess-ment of its cause: "If people will persist in eating watermelon out of season they must abide by the consequences," it warned. Dlness was not unknown in Park City. The newspaper noted that "The prospects of a 'green' Christmas are very favorable, and from the amount of sickness, the necessary accompaniment a fat graveyard will be thrown in." 'Tis the season to be jolly, but the Record was quick to point out that the spirit of giving could be carried offered some ideas for holiday giftgiving. From Murtha's Office, a local saloon, one could purchase "the only imported whiskey in town, and all other beverages in their purity." Byrne's Boot Shop was selling Scotch paisley and French shawls at drastically reduced prices, and the St. Louis Bakery and Candy Store had a large supply of fresh hand-made candles, the "best cigars in America," and a variety of albums that were selling for between $1 and $3 apiece. W.A. Wiseman was advertising a ' ' Large and Splendid stock of Useful, Desirable and Appropriate Christmas Christ-mas Gifts" in his shop opposite the post office. "Railroad accidents may happen, but the Pure Gold Watches, Jewelry, Chains, Gold Quartz Goods, Diamonds, Clocks, Silverware and Musical Goods are sure to Arrive at W.A. Wiseman's for the Holidays," promised the ad. "Just what everybody wants, and at the lowest prices." The Christmas hoopla was not all that Parkites were gearing up for. "Old Year Out and New Year In" exclaimed an ad that week. It invited the entire town to pull fancy dresses and starched collars out of attic trunks and get ready for the Grand Ball to be held New Year's Eve in Society Hall. The Park City Band was organizing organ-izing the event, which was assured to be a showstopper for the small price of $2.50 a ticket, including the horse-drawn transportation to the party. Always ready for a reason to kick up their heels and enjoy life, the entire community was abuzz with talk of the ball. only just so far. In a story simply headlined "To Subscribers," the Record noted somewhat bitterly that "If printers could subsist on promises; if they could pay their employees paper bills and keep their families well supplied with the necessaries of life, on promises, then duns would never disfigure the columns of a newspaper. "On our subscription books are names obtained when the Record came into existence, and not credit for moneys received. A pencil mark erases those names this week of those who owe since 1880; next week . those with no credit from 1881. "The following week those with no credit since 1882 will also receive the farewell scratch." As far as the Record was concerned. "If a man cannot pay a bill of $3 in one year, he cannot and will not pay it in four years." For just a few dollars a year, all the news and views of Park City were printed by the Record and mailed to subscribers in all the northern states, some of the southern states, and in all the territories and coastal states. Unless word was heard from these "foreign" subscribers, the Record was simply going to cross them off the list. "If the information you obtain through the Record relative to the Park and its mines is not worth paying for, it is not worth stealing," admonished the Record. "This is strong language, but nevertheless true. Put yourselves in our boots and see if they don't fit." On a cheerier note, the Record |
